Mergers and acquisitions can be a good career path, especially on the advisory side. M&A transactions mostly go through the intermediaries as most companies do not have trained and experienced professionals to handle this process. They take the help of M&A consultants and intermediary firms, especially with the larger deals that run into millions and billions.
Commissions can range from 3-10% for the intermediary, with lower commissions on higher-value transactions. You develop many corporate skills by handling M&A transactions. This career is not for amateurs as some transactions can take months and years to materialize, and some can fall through midway without closing.
Why Choose Mergers and Acquisitions As Your Career Path?
1. High Salary and Benefits
The salary in this sector will depend on the type and seniority of your role. You will also receive a success fee on the closing of each transaction. This fee is distributed among the team members handling the M&A process and depends on the transaction size. The fee in the range of 3-10% of the transactions is distributed according to the seniority of the positions. Some important roles during this process are M&A analyst, M&A associate, M&A manager, and M&A director. You are assured of a good salary and a part of the successful closing fee.
2. Improve Your Negotiation Skills
Mergers and acquisitions are mainly about high-level negotiation skills. You will learn a lot about corporate-level negotiations by working on these projects. Learn to handle complex deals working with diverse stakeholders. When negotiating, you must remember the different risks your client company faces. You must keep its interests in mind when negotiating.
A merger and acquisition is not only about the facts and data of the two parties. A lot of strategic thinking and hard negotiations are involved. There are financial and legal issues that negotiators must overcome. The experience of these negotiations will improve your resume and make you a suitable candidate for many senior executive, analyst, and consultant roles.
Related: How to Become a Merger and Acquisition Analyst?
3. Develop Multiple Skills
In addition to the negotiation skills, a career in M&A will help you learn and improve many other skills. You develop your expertise in finance, strategic planning, company merger laws, due diligence, and team working. This process requires extensive research, so you will develop your research, analytical, and assessment skills.
4. Networking Opportunity
You will come across top-level corporate leaders in this career. It will help build your network among those who are decision-makers. They often work on high-value projects and need the support of trained, experienced, and trusted professionals. After working with you, they will trust you and your ability to deliver good results for their projects.
Related: Free Merger and Acquisition Courses
5. Career Opportunities
Working in this field will open many new avenues for you to get employed as an analyst, consultant, and other corporate roles. The skills and experience you gain here will prove useful in many industries. Recruiters seek such professionals for roles in investment and banking, project finance, private equity, venture capital, finance department, finance consulting, asset management, and dedicated M&A departments of large companies.
6. Learn to Handle Challenging Projects
M&A projects are high-stakes projects for both parties. They do not mind paying high to qualified and experienced M&A professionals and firms. They are ready to pay so high because this process is quite challenging, and most companies do not have trained professionals to handle it. They have professionals for everyday jobs, not for M&A, which happens only once or occasionally in their company’s life.
You will face some tough challenges as you prepare the question lists, assess the valuation of the target company, conduct financial modeling, and handle many repetitive tasks. Some repetitive tasks must be repeated often if the M&A negotiation drags for several months or years, as you must update the company data frequently.
Related: Merger and Acquisition Interview Questions
7. Gain Respect as a Top Professional in Your Profession
Most M&A projects are high value, and by working on such projects, you will get the experience that commands trust and respect in the corporate world. You will become an excellent consultant and get to work on top strategic corporate projects. Your reputation will improve as you work on more M&A projects and gain experience as a top analyst, assessor, and negotiator.
8. Progress in the Career Quickly
If you take any other route in your career, you will go through the standard career progression process. In the M&A field, you can catapult to a higher position faster. You can shave several years that you will be spending just to gain experience. Your M&A experience will be valuable for many other roles, and you will benefit from it even if you do not go through the standard career progression.
9. Amazing Work Environment
M&A professionals work at high-level positions in excellent working environments. You will work mostly from your office but also visit the company sites for inspections, assessments, and evaluations. Your employer or client will bear the expenses for these visits.
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10. Develop Deep Industry Knowledge
You will understand different industries and how they operate at top levels. It will give you a macro view that very few professionals get, as most work for a single company at a time for years. By the time you end an M&A project, you will have a deep knowledge of that industry. This knowledge will prove valuable if you work in that industry in any role.
Conclusion
The merger and acquisition sector presents an excellent career opportunity as you are assured of a high-paying position as an M&A analyst, negotiator, and assessor. You receive leadership opportunities to lead cross-functional teams. These projects will develop your negotiation, analytical, assessment, leadership, communication, and other skills.
You will learn to deal with different stakeholders when negotiating high-value projects. A role in this career comes with excellent remuneration and benefits. You will receive a part of the percentage fee on the successful closure of an M&A project.
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